9 tips for writing essays in exams
Lauren Condon
Marketing Specialist at Atomi
Essay writing is enough of a struggle when there isn’t any time pressure. Add in a 40 minute limit and that’s pretty much breaking point for a lot of us 🙃 . Well don't stress too much because we're going to help out here with some tricks and tips for writing exam essays* that will actually show the HSC marker all of our killer ideas and skills. This might end up being a pretty hefty post so let’s get cracking straightaway.
* This basically works for things like speeches and long responses as well...
1. Pinpoint the instructions in the question
Before you even start writing, you need to be reading each word of that essay question super carefully. Make sure you’re following instructions and paying attention to the little things that are actually... big things. Do they want you to write a speech or an essay? Do they specify that you need ONE, at least ONE or TWO or more related texts? No excuses for skipping this step because you can just do it during reading time.
2. Draft a quick plan of the structure
Always, always, always plan your essays in an exam. Like… always. The kick of pure fear adrenaline when you start an exam can make it pretty tempting to get writing asap but save yourself a world of pain and take a few minutes to plan. You want to basically write down your thesis (probably one you’ve prepared earlier but tailor it to the specific question) and the structure of your body paragraphs. We go into a bit more detail on planning over here if you’re keen 👍 .
3. Manage your time in writing the essay and the whole exam
Two tips here (lucky you) but basically you need to manage your time in writing the essay and manage your whole exam time. So firstly, you have to leave yourself enough of the exam time to do your essay. If the exam is something like English Paper 1, you know that a third of the (two hour long) exam is an essay so you should be starting that essay with at least 40mins to go.
Hot tip: a lot of top students try to move through the first two sections of that exam fairly quickly so they have more time for a banging essay 💯.
When it comes to writing the essay, the structure you planned out will let you know if you’re on track or not. 40 minutes to write an essay and you have an intro, conclusion and four body paragraphs? Sweet. Well then it’s pretty clear that you should get your intro and the first two paragraphs done in 20 minutes. If you kind of messed up the timing of the whole exam and you don’t have your full 40 minutes then pick up the pace and if you can’t do that, time to make some quick decisions about what to cut.
4. Write out your evidence first so you don’t forget it
This isn’t a must but can be seriously helpful. Every essay needs evidence. It might be quotes, it might be dates, it might be stats. Even though you’ve definitely memorised these perfectly by the HSC (lol), it’s worth having a strategy for making sure you put all your evidence in. My personal tactic was, before starting to write the essay, to scribble that evidence (or just a keyword to jog my memory) down at the top of my planning paper or scribble it under the plan I wrote. That way, if I had a total mind blank when I got to writing a certain paragraph, I didn’t have to leave the evidence out or waste time trying to remember it.
5. Keep it structured
This one is pretty closely related to the point about planning but hey, can’t push it enough. The pressure of writing essays in exams makes it sooooo easy to start rambling and just chucking idea after idea after idea onto the page. Make a structure during your planning and be really strict about sticking to it to keep your essay as clear and strong as possible. Keep your paragraphs to a regular structure like PEEL/PEAL (point, example, explanation/analysis, link) so you have a clear idea of when you’ve written enough in each paragraph and when it’s time to just move on.
6. Have some potential theses and essay structures prepared
Memorising essays gets a little controversial but I think we all agree that you need to, at least, have a few ideas and potential essay structures going into that exam room. Some of us will try to remember whole essays word-for-word which isn’t officially recommended but as long as you are prepared to ( and know how to ) adapt it to the question then it shouldn’t be too bad. It’s really about finding out what approach works best for you but having some possible essays structures and flexible thesis ideas up your sleeve will make sure that you can write an impressive essay in just 40 minutes.
7. If you get stuck, your best bet is to pause for a second
Having a mind blank during an exam is not a good feeling because the clock is literally ticking and there isn’t a way you can magically force yourself to remember a quote or come up with an idea. It will feel pretty stressful but your best bet here is actually to pause and think instead of continuing to waffle on.
Waffling affects the clarity of your essay and the marking criteria about the ‘composing’ of your response. It also might affect how well the marker thinks you understand your argument so it’s always better to pause, give yourself a few seconds to try and reach a solution. If you can’t, either move on and try to come back later or just cut your losses, conclude that point and move on.
8. Don’t forget to anchor your essay with the keyword and source material
Not every essay will give you source material (a picture or quote that you have to refer to) but you will always have a verb or keyword in the question that tells you how to position your argument. When it comes to unexpected source material, here are some tricks and tips and when it comes to the keyword, let’s start by having a look at three questions pulled from the 2016 Advanced English Paper 2 .
- Discuss means you need to pinpoint the issues raised by that statement and provide examples and analysis for and/or against each of those issue.
- How means you need to be providing really solid examples of contrast in Yeats poetry and explaining what that contrast says about personal concerns, political concerns and the relationship between the two.
- To what extent means you need to making a judgement call about how much the themes and ideas in your texts support (or do not support) that statement. This doesn't have to be black and white, you can always say that the texts support that statement in some ways and challenge it in other ways as long as you provide good evidence and analysis to back it up.
All those instructing verbs and keywords came from just one paper so brush on up exactly what they mean and how to use them to anchor your essay . Addressing the keyword and source material really well will show your marker than you are actually answering the exam question, not just chucking out a pre-prepared response.
9. Remind yourself of what the markers are looking for
The overall best tip for writing essays in exams is to remind yourself what your markers are looking for. And no, that doesn't mean you just try to tell your mysterious, probably middle-aged NESA marker what you think they want to hear.
Instead, think about your essay sensibly. Your marker wants to see how well you understand the texts and how the authors communicated those ideas. They want to see how well you understand the concept of Discovery and all its nuances (hint: they’re written out here ). And they want to see how well you can bring all these ideas together and communicate them in a logical, cohesive manner. Don’t get too caught up in fancy language or insanely obscure techniques - you’ve got this.
Writing essays in exams really comes down to being as prepared as possible and having a good strategy for the exam itself. Make sure you’re managing your time and keeping calm enough to write the killer essay you’d be able to come up with outside of the exam room. Happy essay writing… 😬
Published on
October 5, 2017
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How to Write a Good Answer to Exam Essay Questions
Last Updated: July 9, 2024 Approved
This article was co-authored by Tristen Bonacci . Tristen Bonacci is an English Teacher with more than 20 years of experience. Tristen has taught in both the United States and overseas. She specializes in teaching in a secondary education environment and sharing wisdom with others, no matter the environment. Tristen holds a BA in English Literature from The University of Colorado and an MEd from The University of Phoenix. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 18 testimonials and 87% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 653,839 times.
Answering essay questions on an exam can be difficult and stressful, which can make it hard to provide a good answer. However, you can improve your ability to answer essay questions by learning how to understand the questions, form an answer, and stay focused. Developing your ability to give excellent answers on essay exams will take time and effort, but you can learn some good essay question practices and start improving your answers.
Understanding the Question
- Analyze: Explain the what, where, who, when, why, and how. Include pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses, etc.
- Compare: Discuss the similarities and differences between two or more things. Don't forget to explain why the comparison is useful.
- Contrast: Discuss how two or more things are different or distinguish between them. Don't forget to explain why the contrast is useful.
- Define: State what something means, does, achieves, etc.
- Describe: List characteristics or traits of something. You may also need to summarize something, such as an essay prompt that asks "Describe the major events that led to the American Revolution."
- Discuss: This is more analytical. You usually begin by describing something and then present arguments for or against it. You may need to analyze the advantages or disadvantages of your subject.
- Evaluate: Offer the pros and cons, positives and negatives for a subject. You may be asked to evaluate a statement for logical support, or evaluate an argument for weaknesses.
- Explain: Explain why or how something happened, or justify your position on something.
- Prove: Usually reserved for more scientific or objective essays. You may be asked to include evidence and research to build a case for a specific position or set of hypotheses.
- Summarize: Usually, this means to list the major ideas or themes of a subject. It could also ask you to present the main ideas in order to then fully discuss them. Most essay questions will not ask for pure summary without anything else.
- Raise your hand and wait for your teacher to come over to you or approach your teacher’s desk to ask your question. This way you will be less likely to disrupt other test takers.
Forming Your Response
- Take a moment to consider your organization before you start writing your answer. What information should come first, second, third, etc.?
- In many cases, the traditional 5-paragraph essay structure works well. Start with an introductory paragraph, use 3 paragraphs in the body of the article to explain different points, and finish with a concluding paragraph.
- It can also be really helpful to draft a quick outline of your essay before you start writing.
- You may want to make a list of facts and figures that you want to include in your essay answer. That way you can refer to this list as you write your answer.
- It's best to write down all the important key topics or ideas before you get started composing your answer. That way, you can check back to make sure you haven't missed anything.
- For example, imagine that your essay question asks: "Should the FIFA World Cup be awarded to countries with human rights violations? Explain and support your answer."
- You might restate this as "Countries with human rights violations should not be awarded the FIFA World Cup because this rewards a nation's poor treatment of its citizens." This will be the thesis that you support with examples and explanation.
- For example, whether you argue that the FIFA World Cup should or should not be awarded to countries with human rights violations, you will want to address the opposing side's argument. However, it needs to be clear where your essay stands about the matter.
- Often, essay questions end up saying things along the lines of "There are many similarities and differences between X and Y." This does not offer a clear position and can result in a bad grade.
- If you are required to write your answer by hand, then take care to make your writing legible and neat. Some professors may deduct points if they cannot read what you have written.
Staying Calm and Focused
- If you get to a point during the exam where you feel too anxious to focus, put down your pencil (or take your hands off of the keyboard), close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Stretch your arms and imagine that you are somewhere pleasant for a few moments. When you have completed this brief exercise, open up your eyes and resume the exam.
- For example, if the exam period is one hour long and you have to answer three questions in that time frame, then you should plan to spend no more than 20 minutes on each question.
- Look at the weight of the questions, if applicable. For example, if there are five 10-point short-answers and a 50-point essay, plan to spend more time on the essay because it is worth significantly more. Don't get stuck spending so much time on the short-answers that you don't have time to develop a complex essay.
- This strategy is even more important if the exam has multiple essay questions. If you take too much time on the first question, then you may not have enough time to answer the other questions on the exam.
- If you feel like you are straying away from the question, reread the question and review any notes that you made to help guide you. After you get refocused, then continue writing your answer.
- Try to allow yourself enough time to go back and tighten up connections between your points. A few well-placed transitions can really bump up your grade.
Community Q&A
- If you are worried about running out of time, put your watch in front of you where you can see it. Just try not to focus on it too much. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- If you need more practice, make up your own questions or even look at some practice questions online! Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Tips from our Readers
- Look up relevant quotes if your exam is open notes. Use references from books or class to back up your answers.
- Make sure your sentences flow together and that you don't repeat the same thing twice!
You Might Also Like
- ↑ https://www.linnbenton.edu/student-services/library-tutoring-testing/learning-center/academic-coaching/documents/Strategies%20For%20Answering%20Essay%20Questions.pdf
- ↑ https://success.uark.edu/get-help/student-resources/short-answer-essays.php
About This Article
To write a good answer to an exam essay question, read the question carefully to find what it's asking, and follow the instructions for the essay closely. Begin your essay by rephrasing the question into a statement with your answer in the statement. Include supplemental facts and figures if necessary, or do textual analysis from a provided piece to support your argument. Make sure your writing is clear and to the point, and don't include extra information unless it supports your argument. For tips from our academic reviewer on understanding essay questions and dealing with testing nerves, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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